The Fourth Decade of The Avadanasataka

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The Fourth Decade of the Avadnaataka
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Appleton, N 2014, 'The Fourth Decade of the Avadnaataka', Asian Literature and Translation, vol. 2, no. 5,
pp. 1-35.
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Asian Literature and Translation Vol. 2, No. 5 (2014) 1-35
The Fourth Decade of the Avadānaśataka
Translated
by
Naomi Appleton
I here present a translation of the fourth decade (stories 31-40) of the

Avadānaśataka, using Speyer’s 1906-1909 edition1 – and Vaidya’s 1958 reprint
thereof – as my base text. My approach to the text is explained in the introduction
to my translation of the second decade (Asian Literature and Translation 1/7, 2013).2
As noted there, I am particularly interested in the jātaka stories (stories of the
past lives of the Buddha) contained within the Avadānaśataka. While the jātakas of
the second decade focus upon karmic backstories for positive events in the
Buddha’s final life, in the fourth decade we find a stronger focus on the character
of the Buddha-to-be as he practices the many virtues required for the attainment
of Buddhahood. In that sense the stories are much closer to the jātakas of the Pāli
tradition, and indeed several of the stories are also found in the Jātakatthavaṇṇanā
as well as other early Buddhist narrative collections.3
*****
The Fourth Section
A summary of it:
Padmaka and also the Mouthful, Dharmapāla and then Śibi,
Surūpa and Maitrakanya, the Hare and the Dharma-seeker,
Anāthapiṇḍada and Subhadra, together make up this section.
31. Padmaka
The Buddha, the Exalted One, honoured by gods, nāgas, yakṣas, asuras, garuḍas,
kinnaras and mahoragas 4 – that is to say honoured, praised, respected and
worshipped by kings, regents, the wealthy, the city-dwellers, bankers, caravan
leaders, gods, nāgas, yakṣas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras and mahoragas – and who was
1
I am using the 1958 reprint of Speyer. Speyer’s edition is also available on GRETIL – the Göttingen
Register of Electronic Texts in Indian Languages - http://gretil.sub.uni-goettingen.de/gretil.htm
2
For ease of reference, textual notes from the earlier decade that are also relevant to this decade
are reproduced in this article. In some cases my translation of stock passages here varies from in
my previous translation, and where relevant this is discussed in footnotes. I would like to thank
the anonymous reviewer of this translation, who made a number of useful suggestions and
corrections that have helped me to create a more readable and accurate text.
3
Such parallels are noted in footnotes. For parallels with other avadāna collections see the
extensive notes following Feer’s translation of each story.
4
These are various categories of what DeCaroli (2004 passim) has usefully dubbed ‘spirit-deities’.
Although the categories are not well-defined and often overlap, there are some general
characteristics associated with each: nāgas are serpent deities associated with underwater palaces,
yakṣas are often local demons or deities, asura is the term given to anti-gods or demons, garuḍas
are bird-deities in conflict with the nāgas, kinnaras are often said to be half-man half-horse, and
mahoragas are a type of serpent-demon. The term that preceeds these – which I have translated as
gods – is deva, which is usually used to refer to gods of the heavens, though it can also refer to
earth-dwelling gods such as those that inhabit trees.
1
knowing5 and of great merit, dwelled with his community of disciples, provided
with the requisite robes, almsbowls, beds, seats, and medicines for the sick, in
Śrāvastī in the Jeta Grove, the garden of Anāthapiṇḍada. In the autumn the
monks6 were troubled by illness, such that they became pale and jaundiced, their
bodies thin and their limbs weak. The Exalted One, however, was strong and free
from illness, unafflicted, with untroubled limbs. Seeing this the monks asked the
Exalted One, “See, Exalted One, these monks are afflicted with an autumnal
illness. They are pale and jaundiced, their bodies thin and their limbs weak. But
the Exalted One is unafflicted, with untroubled limbs. He is by nature strong and
free from illness, and possessed of regular digestion.”
The Exalted One said, “O monks, actions that the Tathāgata performed and
accumulated in other previous births have come together and their conditions
have matured. Being inevitable they have approached like a strong current.7
These actions have been done and accumulated by me. Who else will experience
their results? O monks, deeds done do not mature in the earth element, nor in the
water element, nor in the fire element, nor in the wind element. Rather, deeds
done, whether pure or impure, ripen in what is enumerated as the aggregates, the
physical elements and the elements of sense-experience (skandhadhātvāyataneṣu).”
“Actions do not disappear even after a hundred aeons.
When they have reached completion and it is time, they fruit for living beings.”
“Formerly, monks, in a past time, a king called Padmaka ruled in the city
of Vārāṇasī. He ruled the kingdom as if it was his only son, and it was wealthy,
thriving, prosperous, abundant in food, and filled with a great many people.
Fatigue, quarrels, riots and frays were appeased, thieves and sickness were gone,
and it had plentiful rice, food, cows and buffaloes. It was completely free from
troubles. And that king was faithful and good, of virtuous intentions, dedicated to
the good of others as well as his own benefit, compassionate, great-hearted,
devoted to the dharma, affectionate towards his family, and a giver of great gifts,
being generous with everything, renouncing everything, giving up without
attachment. At that time a disease arose in Vārāṇasī because of a disturbance in
the elements or a quirk of fate.8 Most of the people became pale and sick. Seeing
them the king became compassionate, thinking, ‘I must be a protector and
medicine for these people.’ So the king assembled doctors who lived all over the
place, and having observed the motivations, dispositions and inclinations of these
5
Although MMW only records the meaning ‘known’ or ‘known as’ for jñāta, DP records a possible
alternative reading ‘knowing’ for the Pāli equivalent ñāta. This seems more natural here, in this
praise of the Buddha. However, an alternative is that he was ‘well-known’ i.e. famous.
6
When used in the plural, bhikṣavaḥ can refer to both monks and nuns. At some points in the
narrative it is clear that the whole fourfold assembly (monks, nuns, laymen and laywomen) is in
attendance. However, it is difficult to find an appropriate English term that is gender-neutral, with
‘monastics’ perhaps being the best option. Thus I have translated as simply ‘monks’ throughout,
but this should not be read as excluding nuns.
7
I previously translated oghavat, which literally means ‘possessor of a strong current’ as ‘river’.
However, as the reviewer rightly pointed out, this does not fully communicate the inevitable force
of karmic consequences that is the purpose of the image. This whole stock passage about the
inevitability of karmic fruiting for each individual is repeated many times throughout the
Avadānaśataka, not just in reference to the Buddha’s own past actions. The message is clearly that
even the Buddha himself is in the same position as other beings in that he is subject to karma.
8
Perhaps translating kālavaiṣamya as ‘quirk of fate’ is too liberal. It could also refer to a
disturbance in the seasons. The broader meaning is clear, however: the disease is not the king’s
fault, nor the fault of his citizens, but has arisen because of forces outside the laws of karma.
2
beings9 he undertook himself to bring together all the herbs and medicines. But
while those beings were being treated a lot of time elapsed, and although he had
amassed doctors, medicines, herbs and attendants it was not possible to cure
them. The king called together all the doctors and respectfully questioned them
again: ‘Why is my treatment no good?’ The doctors deliberated and then spoke
with their united understanding about the qualities and faults: ‘Your majesty, this
[disease] has the marks of being caused by a disturbance in the elements or a
quirk of fate. As such, your majesty, there is but one remedy: the fish named
Rohita. If you were to obtain that, you would be able to cure them.’ The king
began to search for a Rohita fish, but even when he hunted along with many spies
they did not find it, and this they announced to the king.
“On one occasion the king set out along a road outside, and the sick people
stood assembled together and said to the king: ‘Save us from our illness, Great
King! Grant us life!’ Hearing these powerful words spoken by those who were
fading away and sinking into wretchedness and despair, the king’s heart was
shaken by compassion and with his face clouded over with tears he reflected,
‘What would I want with this sort of life, or sovereignty and supreme lordship of
this kind? I am one who is unable to bring peace to others who are suffering.’
Having reflected in this way the king made a great gift of his goods, established
the eldest prince in the sovereignty and supreme lordship, asked pardon of his
kinsmen and also of the citizens and courtiers, comforted the afflicted, and
undertook the eightfold observance.10 He climbed up to the terrace at the top of
the palace and scattered perfume, flowers, fragrances, garlands and unguents.
Facing east he undertook a vow: ‘By this truth, this true utterance – Having seen
these beings tormented by illness and experiencing a severe plight, I am
voluntarily abandoning my own life!11 – by this truth, by this declaration of truth,
may I arise as a great Rohita fish in this sandy river.’ Having said this he threw
himself off the palace roof terrace.
“At the moment he fell he met his end and arose as a great Rohita fish in
the sandy river. Thus the gods uttered a cry in all the kingdom: ‘A great Rohita
fish has arisen in the sandy river as ambrosial medicine for those who have been
long afflicted by this great sickness!’ On hearing this a great body of people came
out bearing knives and bringing baskets, and began to carve him up with various
sharp knives, even as he lived. And the Bodhisattva, his body being torn apart,
suffused them all with friendliness and tearfully, with face full of tears, he
thought: ‘I have obtained something advantageous, namely that these beings will
become happy through my own meat and blood.’ Through that undertaking he
satiated those beings with his own flesh and blood for twelve years, and did not
turn away from the thought of unsurpassed perfect and full awakening.
9
teṣāṃ sattvānāṃ nidānamāśayānuśayaṃ copalakṣya. On the combination of nidāna and āśaya-anuśaya
in this way see BHSD 296 (under nidāna). Edgerton translates this phrase as ‘noting the motives,
the disposition and inclination of these creatures (who were afflicted with a pestilence; i.e. finding
them worthy)’ (BHDS 296). Feer’s rendering – that he observed the cause, seat and effects [of the
illness] (1979: 114) – seems a bit forced, since, as Edgerton points out (BHSD 296), the term āśaya-
anuśaya cannot really be applied to the disease. An alternative reading, as pointed out by the
reviewer of my translation, is that the king is examining the motivations of the doctors and
mistrusts them.
10
aṣṭāṅgasamanvāgataṃ vrataṃ samādāya. This probably refers to the eight precepts that are
observed on special occasions.
11
svajīvitamiṣṭaṃ parityajāmi could also mean ‘I abandon my own cherished life’ or ‘I abandon my
life as a sacrifice’.
3
“When the illness of these beings was calmed, the Rohita fish uttered this
sound: ‘Listen, good beings. I am that king Padmaka. Through sacrificing my own
life for your benefit, I arose with a body of this kind. You should render your
minds faithful towards me.12 When I have attained unsurpassed perfect and full
awakening, then I will liberate you from a terrible sickness and establish you in
the perfect condition of nirvāṇa.’ Hearing that the people became faithful, and the
king, courtiers and citizens worshipped him with flowers, perfumes, garlands and
unguents. They made this resolve: ‘O doer of an exceedingly difficult deed, when
you have attained unsurpassed perfect and full awakening, let us become your
disciples!’”
The Exalted One said, “What do you think, monks? He who was the king
named Padmaka at that time, on that occasion, that was me. And on account of
making that kind of sacrifice, I have experienced boundless happiness in saṃsāra
and now have attained unsurpassed perfect and full awakening, and am possessed
of regular digestion. I digest whatever I eat, drink, consume or taste with the
same pleasure, I have little pain and all my illness is in the past.13 Therefore,
monks, you should train in this way: We will cultivate compassion towards all
beings. This should be your training.”
Thus spoke the Exalted One, and the monks were delighted and praised the
Exalted One’s speech.
32. The Mouthful
kinnaras and mahoragas – that is to say honoured, praised, respected and
knowing and of great merit, dwelled with his community of disciples, provided
Śrāvastī in the Jeta Grove, the garden of Anāthapiṇḍada. There the Exalted One
addressed the monks: “O monks, if beings knew the fruits of generosity and the
ripe fruits of sharing gifts,14 as I know the fruits of generosity and the ripe fruits
of sharing gifts, then they would not enjoy their last mouthful of water or morsel
of food without first having given it and shared it. And if they should obtain a
worthy recipient, selfishness would not arise, overcome their minds or remain.
But when beings do not know the fruits of generosity and the ripe fruits of
sharing gifts, as I know the fruits of generosity and the ripe fruits of sharing gifts,
then they eat without giving or sharing, with meanness of mind, and selfish
thoughts arise, overcome their minds and remain in them.”
12
mamāntike cittaṃ prasādayadhvam. Alternatively, ‘you should gladden your hearts towards me’ or
‘make your minds calm’. Generally, prasāda in the Avadānaśataka refers to a specific positive state
of mind comparable to the experience of faith that leads to a transformation. Animals, pretas, hell-
beings and inferior humans are particularly liable to rebirth improvements due to prasāda, which
is often induced by an encounter with the Buddha. See Appleton 2014: 28-9, 48, 57 and for a useful
discussion of prasāda in the Divyāvadāna see Rotman 2009.
13
Following Speyer’s recommendation (1958: 172 n.6) that this be read as rogatā (=roga) + atīta.
14
I have tried to preserve the ambiguity in the term dānasaṃvibhāga, which could mean simply
distribution of gifts, or partaking in gifts, or encouraging others to give gifts.
4
The Exalted One spoke thus, and having spoken thus the Teacher and Well-
farer (sugata) further said:
“For if beings knew what has been said by the Great Sage,
about the result of generosity, this would be of great benefit:
Those who would not eat without first giving, do not become selfish,
and their minds never become grasping.
But those fools, obscured by delusion, who do not know,
those beings who would eat with meanness of mind,
selfishness arises and overcomes their minds and is established there.”
When the Exalted One had spoken this sūtra, the monks became doubtful
and questioned the Exalted One, the Buddha, the remover of all doubts: “It is a
marvel, sir, that the Exalted One should explain the quality of generosity, and the
ripe fruits of sharing gifts.” The Exalted One said, “What is the marvel in this,
monks, that the Tathāgata should explain the quality of generosity and the ripe
fruits of sharing gifts? In a past time I gave up my own last mouthful because of a
beggar who had arrived in my doorway. Listen, and concentrate your mind on the
good and right. I will explain.”
“Formerly, monks, in times past, a king named Brahmadatta ruled his
kingdom. He ruled the kingdom as if it was his only son, and it was wealthy,
thriving, prosperous, abundant in food, and filled with a great many people.
Fatigue, quarrels, riots and frays were appeased, thieves and sickness were gone,
and it had plentiful rice, food, cows and buffaloes. It was completely free from
troubles. And that king was faithful and good, of virtuous intentions, dedicated to
the good of others as well as his own benefit, compassionate, great-hearted,
devoted to the dharma, affectionate towards his family, and a giver of great gifts,
being generous with everything, renouncing everything, giving up without
attachment. At a later time a great famine came about, resembling the famine
that occurs between the aeons.15 The people became anxious and afraid at this
unseasonable famine, and their necks and cheeks were emaciated with hunger
such that they looked like dead bodies.16 They came together as a group and
visited the king. Having greeted him with ‘Victory!’ and ‘Long life!’ they said,
‘Your majesty, protect us from the danger of this famine! Grant us life!’ The king
addressed his steward: ‘You, man, is there food and water in the storeroom such
that there is enough for us and for all of these people?’ Hearing this the steward
said, ‘Your majesty, having investigated the grain I will tell you.’ Then with men
skilled in counting he made his calculation and announced: ‘There is for a certain
time one morsel each day for all the inhabitants of the kingdom and two morsels
for the king.’ Then the king called the people together and said, ‘Good people,
having come here each day, you can eat in the palace and then go.’ So each day
they came, and each one individually ate a single morsel and then went where
they pleased.
“Now there was a certain brahmin who was not part of those calculations,
and having heard about it from the others he said to the king, ‘Your majesty, I
heard about the calculations as I was travelling the country. A morsel should be
15
The antara-kalpa here presumably refers to the period of destruction between two aeons (kalpas).
See BHSD 38.
16
Or pretāśrayasadṛśāḥ could indicate they looked like ghosts. For the common Buddhist use of
āśraya as meaning ‘body’ see BHSD 110.
5
given to me too!’ The king gave one of his own two morsels to the brahmin, and
proceeded to eat a single morsel like the people.
“It happened that Śakra, king of the gods, saw and knew what was going on
below. It occurred to him, ‘Surely it is a very difficult thing to do, what the king of
Vārāṇasī has done. What if I were to investigate this?’ So Śakra the king of the
gods made himself look like a brahmin and approached the king at his mealtime.
After greeting him with ‘Victory!’ and ‘Long life!’ he said, ‘I am starving. Favour
me with your own morsel.’ The king resolved out of compassion to give up his
own life, and gave his own morsel to the brahmin, thus having no food left.
Because of that resolve he did this with six food portions, and at the sight of the
many people eating, he was filled with extraordinary joy. Then Śakra the king of
the gods, having seen the king’s resolve to carry out something so incredibly
difficult, made his brahmin disguise disappear and stood there in his own form.
He gladdened the king, saying, ‘Very good! Very good great king! We are humbled
by your lordship’s resolve that was so difficult to accomplish. The people have a
protector with a king of this kind! Do not grieve, but sow all your seeds in the
country. On the seventh day I will let loose the rains in the manner of Great
Indra,17 such that all the grain will burst forth.’ The king had that done, and Śakra
let loose the rains in the manner of Great Indra such that the famine came to an
end and a time of plenty arrived.”
The Exalted One said: “What do you think, monks? He who at that time and
on that occasion was the king named Brahmadatta, that was me. It was I that gave
gifts of this type, during a famine of this kind, by letting go of my own life. Thus in
this way the monks should train: We will give such gifts and make merit. In this
way, monks, you should train.”
33. Dharmapāla
Rājagṛha in Kalandakanivāpa in the Venu Grove. Now the deluded man Devadatta
let loose the elephant Dhanapālaka in order to kill the Exalted One, and he filled a
well with poisoned powder, and he sent forth assassins. He was an attacker, an
adversary and an enemy to the Exalted One for a long time. Yet the Exalted One
had friendly thoughts towards him, thought of his welfare and maintained a
compassionate mind. The monks questioned the Exalted One, “See, Exalted One,
how this Devadatta strives to kill the Exalted One, and yet the Exalted One has
friendly thoughts towards him, thinks of his welfare and maintains a
compassionate mind.”
17
tathāvidhaṃ māhendraṃ varṣaṃ could also indicate ‘rains of the Great Indra variety’, as in my
previous translation. It is not entirely clear whether or not Śakra is Great Indra, for he is certainly
the Indra of Brahmanical mythology. In story 37 the abode of Great Indra shakes at the truth-
utterance of the Bodhisattva; this is a motif usually associated with Śakra.
6
The Exalted One said, “O monks, what is the wonder in this now, when the
Tathāgata has eradicated attachment, hatred and delusion, is free from birth,
ageing, sickness, death, grief, lamentation, suffering, melancholy and mental
anguish, and is all-knowing, knowledgeable in all ways, master of all that is to be
known? In times past, when I was affected by attachment, hatred and delusion
and just a little child, my mind was not corrupted in the presence of someone who
was determined to kill me. Listen, and concentrate your mind on the good and
right. I will explain.”
kingdom in the city of Vārāṇasī. He ruled the kingdom as if it was his only son,
and it was wealthy, thriving, prosperous, abundant in food, and filled with a great
many people. Fatigue, quarrels, riots and frays were appeased, thieves and
sickness were gone, and it had plentiful rice, food, cows and buffaloes. It was
completely free from troubles. And that king was faithful and good, of virtuous
intentions, dedicated to the good of others as well as his own benefit,
compassionate, great-hearted, devoted to the dharma, affectionate towards his
family, and a giver of great gifts, being generous with everything, renouncing
everything, giving up without attachment. Now that king had a cruel, passionate
and impetuous queen named Durmatī (Weak-minded), and he had a single son
named Dharmapāla (Protector of the Dharma), who was born of Durmatī. That
Dharmapāla was kind, faithful and good, of virtuous intentions, dedicated to the
good of others as well as his own benefit, compassionate, great-hearted, devoted
to the dharma, and affectionate towards his family. The sight of him was dear,
pleasing, desirable and charming to all of the brahmins and householders of
Vārāṇasī. And having approached a teacher he learnt his letters along with the
other children.
Some time later, in springtime, the king, along with his queen and his
retinue of women, went out to a park in a woodland that was filled with trees in
full bloom and resounding with the cries of geese, cranes, peacocks, parrots,
mynahs, cuckoos and pheasants. There in the king’s park he amused himself with
the women of his inner quarters, and Queen Durmatī was filled with jealousy and
anger, and became furious. The king offered her a share of leftover drink,18 but
she, angry, dismissed the king’s gift: ‘Let me drink the blood of your son, if I am to
drink a portion of your drink!’ They say that someone who is absolutely devoted
to sense pleasures does not think at all about the evil deed that is to be done.
Thus, although King Brahmadatta was righteous, and although he was being
soothed by the women of the inner quarters, because there was no end to his lust
and passion he burnt with a fiery anger. His anger swelled, he gave the order: ‘Go,
cut Dharmapāla’s throat and bring his blood to drink!’
“Then Prince Dharmapāla, who was in the children’s hall, heard about this
and began to cry. He said, ‘Alas for the community of beings in saṃsāra, that
under the power of anger they would sacrifice a child who has come from their
own body!’ Then Dharmapāla, adorned in all his ornaments, fell at the feet of his
father and said, ‘Good father, be gracious. I am blameless and should not be
sacrificed. And all fathers cherish19 their sons.’ The king replied, ‘Son, if your
mother will relent, I too will do so.’ So Dharmapāla instead approached his
18
See Speyer’s note (1958: 179 n.7) on the unusually abbreviated nature of this passage.
19
There may be a deliberate pun and/or ambiguity here, for iṣṭa can mean ‘cherished’ or
‘sacrificed’.
7
mother, and threw himself crying at her feet. With hands joined in respect he
said, ‘Mother, relent! Don’t deprive me of my life!’ But she was not pleased with
this wretched and pitiable speech and did not relent. The executioners cut Prince
Dharmapāla’s throat with a sharp sword and Queen Durmatī drank his blood.
Durmatī did not repent, but Prince Dharmapāla died with his mind kindly
disposed towards his mother, father and the executioners.”
The Exalted One said, “What do you think, monks? He who was that prince
named Dharmapāla at that time, on that occasion, that was me. And Queen
Durmatī, that was Devadatta.20 Even then, in the hands of the executioner, I had
friendly thoughts, and likewise now I have friendly, kind and compassionate
thoughts towards one who strives to kill me. In this way you should train, monks:
We will cultivate friendly thoughts towards all beings. In this way, monks, you
should train.”
34. Śibi
Śrāvastī in the Jeta Grove, the garden of Anāthapiṇḍada. At that time and on that
occasion in Śrāvastī there were two congregations of the monks, one on the first
day of the Āṣāḍha (June/July) rains, and the second at the full moon of Kārtika
(October/November). There the monks cooked their [earthenware] bowls, washed
their robes, and sewed together dust-heap rags [as robes]. One of the monks
wanted to sew a robe but was unable to insert the thread into the hole of the
needle. He spoke with words that were heavy with grief and lamentation: “Who in
the world wishes for merit?” The Exalted One was taking his walk not far away.
The Exalted One, sounding like a kettledrum or as beautiful as a cuckoo, deep,
sweet and splendid, stretched out his arm like the trunk of an elephant and said,
“O monk, I in the world wish for merit!” Then that monk, hearing heard the
Exalted One’s voice that was endowed with the five qualities,21 became agitated
and quickly seized the Exalted One’s hand and placed it on his own head. He said,
“Exalted One, this hand of yours has accumulated generosity, good conduct,
forbearance, vigour, meditation and wisdom during three incalculable aeons.”
20
This is an interesting and rare case of gender variation between births. Several jātaka stories
portray Devadatta’s attempts to kill the Buddha-to-be, though he rarely succeeds. A story of
filicide in the Jātakatthavaṇṇanā (542. Candakumāra-jātaka or Khaṇḍahāla-jātaka) has some
resonances with the present tale. In it we find a king persuaded to sacrifice his son in order to gain
heaven. The brahmin advisor who schemes to have the prince killed is Devadatta, and the prince
himself is the Bodhisattva. The Culladhammapāla-jātaka (Jātakatthavaṇṇanā 358) also resonates,
though here it is an angry king (=Devadatta) who orders his baby son (=the Bodhisattva) to be
mutilated and killed, despite the desperate entreaties of his queen. The Mahādhammapāla-jātaka
(Jātakatthavaṇṇanā 447), with its parallel in the Mahāvastu, is unrelated.
21
It is not entirely clear what these pañcāṅga are. The term probably refers to the five varieties of
music (see BHSD pañcāṅgika and PED pañca-angikaturiya).
8
And then the Exalted One said, “I am eager for merit, monk. I have a taste for
virtues, monk, such that I am never satiated.”
The monks became doubtful and questioned the Exalted One, the Buddha,
remover of all doubts: “It is a marvel, sir, that the Exalted One is never satiated
when it comes to the accumulation22 of merit.23” The Exalted One said, “O monks,
what is the wonder in this now, when the Tathāgata has eradicated attachment,
hatred and delusion, is free from birth, ageing, sickness, death, grief, lamentation,
suffering, melancholy and mental anguish, and is all-knowing, knowledgeable in
all ways, master of all that is to be known? In times past, when I was affected by
attachment, hatred and delusion, and was not free from birth, ageing, sickness,
death, grief, lamentation, suffering, melancholy and mental anguish, I was not
satiated with the accumulation of merit. Listen, and concentrate your mind on the
good and right and I will explain.”
“Formerly, monks, in times past, a king named Śibi ruled his kingdom in
the capital city Śibighoṣā. He ruled the kingdom as if it was his only son, and it
was wealthy, thriving, prosperous, abundant in food, and filled with a great many
people. Fatigue, quarrels, riots and frays were appeased, thieves and sickness
were gone, and it had plentiful rice, food, cows and buffaloes. It was completely
free from troubles. And King Śibi was faithful and good, of virtuous intentions,
dedicated to the good of others as well as his own benefit, compassionate, great-
hearted, devoted to the dharma, affectionate towards his family, and a giver of
great gifts, being generous with everything, renouncing everything, giving up
without attachment. At day-break he arose, entered the sacrificial arena and
bestowed food on those who desired food, and clothes on those in need of clothes.
He parted with wealth, grain, gold, money, jewels, pearls, cat’s-eye gems, conches,
stone and coral, and he never became satiated with the accumulation of merit. He
entered his inner quarters and gave food and covers to the people there, and also
to the princes and courtiers, the army, and the city and country folk.
“Then it occurred to King Śibi, ‘Human beings are satisfied with this, but
the small animals remain, and what will satisfy them?’ He had given up his whole
fortune and lived in a single cloth, but it occurred to him that his own body
remained. He thought: ‘I will give my own body to the small animals.’ He cut his
own body with a sword, presented himself where the gnats and mosquitoes were,
and remained there. He refreshed them with his blood, as if they were as dear as
his only son.
“Then Śakra the king of the gods became aware of what was going on
below. It occurred to him, ‘Does this King Śibi do this for the benefit of living
beings, out of compassion? I should investigate this.’ He made himself appear as a
vulture, coloured black like antimony, approached King Śibi, and began to pluck
out an eye with his beak. The king did not tremble, but regarded that vulture with
22
The term here, saṃskāra, has a range of technical meanings in Buddhism, including
‘predispositions’ arising from past lives, and ‘conditions’ relating to normal existence. However,
the more normal Sanskrit meaning of ‘attainment’ or ‘accumulation’ seems most likely here.
Implicit is the surprise – on the part of the monks – that the Buddha, despite his buddhahood, still
takes delight in conditioned mundane merit-making activities associated with rebirth. Feer leaves
the term untranslated.
23
The term puṇyamaya is equivalent to puṇya, which is usually translated as ‘merit’, and I have
followed this norm despite the consequent need to ignore the plural of the Sanskrit. Merit is the
primary currency in terms of Buddhist karma, and this is presumably why the monks are
surprised at the Buddha’s continuing interest in good works despite his liberation from the cycle
of rebirth.
9
eyes filled with friendliness and said, ‘Dear child, use my body as you please: I
make a gift of it.’ Then Śakra the king of the gods was overcome, and making
himself appear as a brahmin he stood before King Śibi and said, ‘Good, lord of the
earth. Give me your pair of eyes.’ The king responded, ‘Great brahmin, take as it
pleases you. I have no obstacles in this.’24 At this Śakra the king of the gods
became even more pleased. Putting aside his disguise as a brahmin he stood in his
own form and spoke encouragingly to the king: ‘Very good! Very good, O lord of
the earth! Your resolve is firm, your vow is unshakeable, and you have attained
great compassion towards living beings, such that you are even proficient with
regard to terrifying experiences. With this resolve it will not be long before you
awaken to unsurpassed full and complete buddhahood!’”
The Exalted One said, “What do you think, monks? He who on that
occasion, at that time, was the king called Śibi, that was me. Even at that time I
was never satiated with accumulating merit, and how much more so now. In this
way, monks, you should train: We will give gifts; we will make merit. In this way,
monks, you should train.”
35. Surūpa
Śrāvastī in the Jeta Grove, the garden of Anāthapiṇḍada. When the Exalted One
had come out of his meditative seclusion and taught the sweet dharma – sweet as
honey25 – to the fourfold assembly,26 and several hundred of those assembled
heard the sweet dharma from the Exalted One with unwavering faculties,27 then
the monks became doubtful and questioned the Exalted One, the Buddha, remover
of all doubts: “See, sir, how these beings who have become receptacles for the
jewel of the dharma, regard it as worthy of listening to with respect.” The Exalted
One said, “Listen, monks, just as the Tathāgata listened to the dharma with respect
and comprehended it. Concentrate your mind on the good and right and I will
explain.”
“Formerly, monks, in times past, in the city of Vārāṇasī, a king named
Surūpa (Handsome) ruled. He ruled the kingdom as if it was his only son, and it
was wealthy, thriving, prosperous, abundant in food, and filled with a great many
24
It is this episode – the gift of eyes to a brahmin – that forms the focus of the Śibi story in the
Jātakatthavaṇṇanā (499. Sivi-jātaka) and the Jātakamālā (2. Śibi). Another episode involving the
generous King Śibi, in which he sacrifices his flesh to ransom a dove, is also known in Buddhist
narrative, as well as in Jain narrative and the Mahābhārata.
25
The dharma is described as madhuramadhuraṃ and kṣaudraṃ madhvivāneḍakam, where kṣaudra
and aneḍaka may be types of honey or simply synonyms for honey, and madhu can mean ‘sweet’
(like madhura) or ‘honey’. Reproducing such repetition in the translation is problematic.
26
Namely the assemblies of monks, nuns, laymen and laywomen.
27
The indriyāni may be the six sense faculties (including the mind) or perhaps the five moral
faculties (śraddhā, vīrya, smṛti, samādhi, prajñā). See BHSD 114.
10
people. Fatigue, quarrels, riots and frays were appeased, thieves and sickness
were gone, and it had plentiful rice, food, cows and buffaloes. It was completely
free from troubles. And that king was faithful and good, of virtuous intentions,
dedicated to the good of others as well as his own benefit, compassionate, great-
hearted, devoted to the dharma, affectionate towards his family, and a giver of
great gifts, being generous with everything, renouncing everything, giving up
without attachment. And that king had a queen named Sundarikā (Beauty), and
she was handsome, good-looking, and pleasant, furnished with all major and
minor limbs. And he had a single son named Sundaraka (Good-looking), who was
cherished and loved, dear and charming, patient and amenable. Now on a certain
occasion King Surūpa became desirous of the dharma, and having assembled all his
courtiers he said, ‘Lords, seek the dharma.28 It is the dharma that pleases me.’ Then
those courtiers, having joined their palms in respect, reported to the king, ‘The
dharma is hard to obtain, Great King. We have heard, Great King, that dharma
arises from the arising of Buddhas in the world.’ The king fastened a golden
casket on top of a flag-pole and made a proclamation with bells through the whole
realm: ‘I will give this golden casket to whoever will speak the dharma to me, and I
will pay him great honour!’ A great deal of time went by, and no teacher of the
dharma could be found. The king was tormented with longing on account of the
dharma.
“Śakra the king of the gods saw and knew what was going on below. He
saw the king distressed on account of the dharma, and this occurred to him: ‘What
if I were to test this King Surūpa?’ Thus, having made himself into the form of a
yakṣa, altering his hands, feet and eyes, he said to the king in the midst of his
multiple assemblies, ‘Sir is desirous of the dharma. I will speak the dharma to you.’
At hearing the word ‘dharma’ the king became delighted and joyful, and said to
the yakṣa, ‘Speak, guhyaka,29 and I will hear the dharma.’30 The guhyaka replied, ‘Oh
Great king! Dharmas manifest only to the happy.31 I am hungry, so offer me some
food.’ Hearing this, the king addressed his men: ‘Bring different kinds of food and
drink for him!’ The yakṣa said, ‘I eat freshly killed flesh and blood. Grant me your
only son, Sundara.’ Having heard that the king became extremely dejected: ‘After
a long time,32 today, I get to hear the dharma, but at a price it is not worth.’ But
Prince Sundara heard this and, falling at his father’s feet, he begged the king:
‘Excuse me, your majesty. Your majesty’s wish should be fulfilled.33 Give me as
food to the guhyaka.’ So the king, for the sake of the dharma, gave his only son,
28
See Speyer’s discussion (1958: 188 n.9) and his suggested emendation of dharmān (plural) to
dharmaṃ (singular). Since the term appears in the plural again later it may be best to keep the
plural here, though for a smooth translation I follow Speyer.
29
A guhyaka is another term for a spirit-deity, usually – like yakṣas – considered to be part of
Kubera’s retinue. Here it would appear to be a synonym for yakṣa.
30
As in an occurrence noted above, dharma is again plural here, which is difficult to render, but
clearly intentional.
31
Following Speyer’s emendation of abhilaṣanti (‘are desirous of’) to abhilasanti. He suggests for the
meaning: ‘it is only when one feels one’s self at ease that the dharmas will make their appearance’
(1958: 189 n.8). Feer (1979: 129) translates ‘les lois exigent le bien-être’, which seems to make best
sense of the circumstances; see also his discussion (1979: 129 n.1).
32
The phrase kadācit karhicit seems to indicate not simply ‘sometimes’ but ‘rarely’ or ‘after a long
wait’. For this meaning see Pāli kadāci karahaci DP I 629.
33
Alternatively, ‘let the deity’s (yakṣa’s) wish be fulfilled’, as Feer chooses to translate. However,
Śakra has not been referred to as a deva since his disguise.
11
who was cherished and loved, dear and charming, patient and amenable, to the
yakṣa.
“Then the yakṣa, through his supernormal power, made it appear to the
king and his assembly that he was tearing apart his major and minor limbs one by
one, eating them and drinking his blood.34 Having seen that the king, desiring the
dharma, did not grieve. The guhyaka said to the king, ‘I am not satiated, earthly
king. Give me more!’ Then the king gave him his beloved wife, and he appeared to
eat her in the same way. He spoke to the king further: ‘Oh earthly king, today I do
not get enough to satisfy me.’ Then the king said to the yakṣa, ‘Dear one, I have
given my only son and my beloved wife. Do you ask for more?’ The guhyaka
replied, ‘Give me your own body! This will bring me satisfaction.’ The king said, ‘If
I give you my own body, how will I then be able to hear the dharma? Won’t you
speak the dharma to me first? I will give up my own body after I have gained the
dharma.’ Then the guhyaka, having gained this promise from the king, taught the
dharma before that assembly of several hundred:
‘Grief is born from what is dear. Fear is born from what is dear.
For those who are free from what is dear, there is no grief, and how could there
be fear?’
Upon hearing this verse, the king was delighted of mind, his senses joyful and
glad. He said to the yakṣa: ‘Guhyaka, here is my body. Do with it as you wish.’
“Then Śakra the king of the gods knew that the king was as unshakeable as
Mount Meru with regard to unsurpassed perfect and full buddhahood. He set
aside his yakṣa form and stood in his own form. With his eyes opened by faith, he
took the son in one hand and the wife in the second, and said in order to
encourage the king, ‘Very good! Excellent, good man! You are firm in your
preparation. With this resolve it will not be long before you awaken to
unsurpassed perfect and full buddhahood. And you are reunited with the people
you desire.’ Then the king said this to Śakra the king of the gods: ‘Very good, very
good Kauśika! My desire for the dharma has been fulfilled!’”
The Exalted One said, “What do you think, monks? He who, at that time
and on that occasion, was the king called Surūpa, that was me. Ānanda was Prince
Sundara, and this Sundarikā was Yaśodharā. Even then, monks, I gave up
cherished belongings for the sake of the dharma, and even gave up my own life,
how much more so now. In this way you should train, monks: We will revere, pay
respects to, honour and worship the dharma. Having revered, paid respects to,
honoured and worshipped the dharma we will live in reliance on it. In this way,
monks, you should train.
36. Maitrakanyaka
34
Here Speyer (and, following him, Vaidya) inserts * * * indicating a lacuna, though none of the
meaning would appear to be lost.
12
Śrāvastī in the Jeta Grove, the garden of Anāthapiṇḍada. There the Exalted One
addressed the monks: “O monks, those families in which the mother and father
are properly honoured, properly worshipped and properly looked after with joy
are [said to be] ‘with Brahmā’. And what is the reason for that? Because, in
accordance with the dharma, for the son of the family the mother and father have
become Brahmās.35 Those families in which the mother and father are properly
honoured, properly worshipped and properly looked after with joy are ‘with a
preceptor’.36 And what is the reason for that? Because, in accordance with the
dharma, for the son of the family the mother and father are preceptors. Those
families in which the mother and father are properly honoured, properly
worshipped and properly looked after with joy are ‘worthy of sacrifice’.37 And
what is the reason for that? Because, in accordance with the dharma, for the son of
the family the mother and father are worthy of sacrifice. Those families in which
the mother and father are properly honoured, properly worshipped and properly
looked after with joy are ‘with Agni’. And what is the reason for that? Because, in
accordance with the dharma, for the son of the family the mother and father are
Agni. Those families in which the mother and father are properly honoured,
properly worshipped and properly looked after with joy are ‘with the gods’. And
what is the reason for that? Because, in accordance with the dharma, for the son of
the family the mother and father are gods.” Thus spoke the Exalted One. Having
said this the Well-farer, the Teacher, also spoke the following:
“For a mother and father are Brahmā, and one’s first preceptor;
To a son they are worthy of sacrifice, they are Agni, and the gods.
Therefore the wise should revere and honour them,
by massaging, bathing and cleaning their feet,
or with food and drink, clothes, beds and seats.
That wise man who attends on his mother and father,
becomes irreproachable, and after death enjoys heaven.”
When the Exalted One had spoken this sūtra, the monks became doubtful,
and questioned the Exalted One, the Buddha, remover of all doubts: “It is a
marvel, sir, that the Exalted One should speak in praise of attending on one’s
venerable mother and father!” The Exalted One replied, “O monks, what is the
wonder in this now, if the Tathāgata, who has eradicated attachment, hatred and
delusion, who is free from birth, ageing, sickness, death, grief, lamentation,
suffering, melancholy and mental anguish, and is all-knowing, knowledgeable in
all ways, master of all that is to be known, should speak in praise of attending on
one’s venerable mother and father? In times past, when I was affected by
attachment, hatred and delusion, and was not free from birth, ageing, sickness,
death, grief, lamentation, suffering, melancholy and mental anguish, having done
my mother a small injury I experienced powerful suffering. Listen, monks. Focus
your minds on the good and the right and I will explain.”
35
The term is brahmabhūtau, ‘brahma-beings’ or ‘brahma-become’, indicating that the parents
have been absorbed into Brahmā or become Brahmā gods.
36
The term ācārya could also be translated simply as ‘teacher’, but the more specific meaning of
‘preceptor’ seems appropriate here, given that this series of statements is drawing on Vedic and
Brahmanical terminology.
37
The word āhavanīya in a Vedic and Brahmanical context more specifically refers to the
consecrated ritual fire that is worthy of being offered sacrificial oblations. In a Buddhist context
the term has the more general meaning ‘worthy of offerings’ or ‘worthy of honour’.
13
“Formerly, monks, in times past, there was in this city of Vārāṇasī a

caravan-leader called Mitra. He was rich, of great wealth and property. His
possessions were broad and extensive. He was furnished with wealth like
Vaiśravaṇa, rivaling Vaiśravaṇa’s wealth. He took a wife from a similar family,
and he played with her and made love to her and amused himself. But the sons
that were born as a result of his playing and love-making and enjoyment died.38
Resting his cheek in his hand he remained lost in thought: ‘I have a house full of
riches, but I have no son or daughter. After my death, having declared me son-less
all my property will be procured by the king.’ His friend advised, ‘If a son is born
to you, you should give him a girl’s name, and then he will be long-lived.’ He,
sonless and desiring a son, entreated Śiva, Varuṇa, Kubera, Śakra, Brahmā and so
on, and various other gods, namely the gods of the forest and the gods of the
grove, the gods of the crossroads, the gods of the three-way junctions and those
who are receivers of offerings. He also entreated the deities associated with his
birth, who shared his nature and were constantly bound to him. For there is this
saying in the world, that sons and daughters are born because of entreaties. But
this is not so, for if it were the case then each person would have a thousand sons
just like a cakravartin king. Actually sons and daughters are born from the coming
together of three conditions. What are these three conditions? The mother and
father unite in love-making, the mother is healthy and in her fertile period, and a
gandharva is standing by. From the coming together of these three conditions sons
and daughters are born. But he continued to make entreaties, and a certain being
came out from a particular group of beings and descended into his wife’s womb.39
“There are five particular characteristics in any wise woman. What are the
five? She knows when a man is enamoured, and she knows when he is indifferent.
She knows the right time and season. She knows when her womb has been
entered. She knows from whom her womb has been entered. She knows when it is
a boy and she knows when it is a girl, for if it is a boy it lies on the right side of her
womb and stays there, and if it is a girl it lies on the left side of her womb and
stays there. She was thrilled and delighted and addressed her husband, ‘You are
fortunate, noble lord! I have become pregnant. And because it lies on the right
side of my womb it will certainly be a boy!’ He too was thrilled and delighted, and
he raised his upper body and stretched out his right arm, and uttered this solemn
speech: ‘O that I might see the face of a son, desired for a long time. May he not be
born unworthy of me. May he do his duty. Having been supported by me, may he
be my support. May he claim his inheritance, and may my family lineage last a
long time. And may he, when we are gone, give gifts large or small and make
merit, and dedicate that in our names, saying, “May this follow these two,
wherever they have gone or arisen.’’’ Knowing that she was pregnant, he kept her
on the upper storey of a lofty palace, unrestrained, with everything necessary for
the cold when it was cold, and everything necessary for the heat when it was hot.
She was provided with food as prescribed by the doctors, neither too bitter nor
too sour, neither too salty nor too sweet, neither too sharp nor too astringent,
with food that was free from bitterness, sourness, saltiness, sweetness, sharpness
and astringence. She was adorned with strings of pearls, and like a celestial
38
Following Speyer’s emendation; see his explanatory note (1958: 195 n.3).
39
The narrative appears to imply that the arrival of a foetus is as a result of the deity worship,
even though this possibility is denied in the formulaic passage above. For a discussion of this
incongruence in the formulae relating to conception see Collett 2006: 171.
14
nymph (apsaras) roving the Nandana Grove she moved from bed to bed and from
seat to seat without descending to the ground below.40 And she did not hear any
unpleasant sound while her foetus was maturing.
“After eight or nine months had passed she gave birth. A boy was born
who was well-formed, beautiful, pleasing, brilliant, golden-coloured, with a
parasol-shaped head, pendulous arms, a broad forehead, a loud voice, eyebrows
that joined, a prominent nose, and furnished with all the major and subsidiary
limbs. When he was born they celebrated his birth-festival and fixed the naming
ceremony. ‘What should be this boy’s name?’ His kinsmen said, ‘This boy is the
son and daughter (kanyā) of Mitra, so the boy should be called Maitrakanyaka.’41
“The child Maitrakanyaka was given eight nurses: two shoulder-nurses [to
carry him around], two wet-nurses, two nurses to keep him clean, and two nurses
to play with. He was raised by these eight nurses, nourished with milk, coagulated
milk, fresh butter, clarified butter, clarified butter extract, and served with
various other hot foods. He grew quickly, like a lotus in a lake. His father crossed
the great ocean and there met his death. When Maitrakanyaka was grown up, he
said to his mother, ‘Mother, of what work did our father live off the fruits?
Following him I too would like to work at that.’ His mother replied, ‘Son, your
father was an okkarika tradesman.42 If you desire to, you too should be an okkarika
tradesman.’ She thought, ‘If I tell him that he was a merchant on the great ocean
then he too at some stage will descend to the great ocean and meet his death
there.’
“So he established an okkarika shop, and on the first day he made four
kārṣāpaṇas,43 and he gave them to his mother, saying, ‘Mother, bestow these on
śramaṇas, brahmins, poor men and beggars.’ And she further said, ‘Your father
was a perfume-seller.’ So he gave up being an okkarika tradesman and established
a perfume shop, and he made eight kārṣāpaṇas. These too he gave to his mother,
and then she said, ‘Your father was a goldsmith.’ So he gave up that shop and set
up a goldsmith shop. In the first day he made sixteen kārṣāpaṇas and gave them to
his mother. On the second day he made thirty-two kārṣāpaṇas and presented these
also to his mother. But the goldsmiths became jealous and, knowing all the
appointed trades they said, ‘Maitrakanyaka, why do you pursue an inappropriate
livelihood? Your father was a merchant on the great ocean. Who directed you into
this wrong trade?’ Impelled by the speech of the goldsmiths he went to his
mother and said, ‘Mother, I have heard it said that our father was a merchant on
the great ocean. Grant permission:44 I too will go out on the great ocean!’ His
mother replied, ‘This is true, son. But you are young and my only son. Don’t
abandon me and go out on the great ocean!’ But he, insulted by those jealous-
minded bad friends, did not give up. He disobeyed his mother’s words and had a
40
It is not clear whether this means the lower floors of the palace, or simply the ground beneath
the seats and beds. I have tried to maintain the ambiguity, though I am generally swayed by
Rotman’s note on a parallel passage in the Divyāvadāna (Rotman 2008: 392-3 n. 94) that since she is
being compared with a divinity it would make sense for her feet not to touch the ground, this
being one of the features of the gods.
41
This rather peculiar justification for his name presumably harks back to the advice of Mitra’s
friend, who suggested raising a son as a daughter in order to ensure the child’s longevity.
42
It is not clear what sort of tradesman an okkarika is. It is also found spelled aukarika. See
Edgerton’s entries for both in BHSD.
43
A coin or gold, the exact value of which is unknown.
44
Alternatively tadanujānāhi could also, at a stretch, mean ‘admit it’, hence Feer translates
‘avouele’ (1979: 133).
15
bell sounded in the city of Vārāṇasī: ‘Listen, good men, citizens of Vārāṇasī! The
merchant Maitrakanyaka, a caravan-leader, is going out into the great ocean!
Whoever among you is courageous enough to go out on the great ocean with
Maitrakanyaka the caravan-leader, without taxes, customs fees and ferry money,
they should assemble their wares for taking on the great ocean.’ Having carried
out the auspicious ceremonies, portentous rites and benedictions, with a retinue
of five hundred merchants and with carts, carriers, bags and baskets, buffaloes,
cows and donkeys, he assembled his wares for going on the great ocean and set
out. His mother, her heart agitated with love, her face clouded over with tears,
clutched at his feet: ‘Son, don’t abandon me and go out on the great ocean!’ But
though he was pleased by these words that were heavy with distress and
lamentation, he made his resolve. He struck his mother on the head with his foot
and departed with his caravan. His mother said, ‘O my son, may this act (karman)
not ripen for you!’
“In due course, passing through45 villages, towns, districts, capitals and
cities, he reached the shore of the ocean. He obtained a vessel for five hundred
purāṇas,46 and taking the five types of crew47 - the conveyer, sailor, fisherman and
helmsman – he made three proclamations and set off into the sea. But as the boat
was going along it unluckily fell into trouble on account of a makara fish, and
Maitrakanyaka, clinging to a plank of wood, reached dry land. He walked about on
that land until he saw, not far off, a city named Ramaṇaka (Charming). He
approached it, and there four celestial nymphs appeared, beautiful, good-looking
and charming. They said, ‘Come, Maitrakanyaka, you are welcome. Here is our
food-house and drink-house, our clothes house and our sleeping house,
abounding in various kinds of gems, pearls, cats-eye, conch-shells, crystal, coral,
gold and silver. Come, and we will enjoy ourselves.’ He experienced pleasure with
them for several years, just like a being who has made merit and done good deeds.
They prohibited him from going along the path south, but being forbidden from
the southern road only made him want to go there more.48
“In due course he went along that path to the south and saw a city called
Sadāmatta (Constant Revelry). He arrived at the gate, and eight celestial nymphs
came out, who were even more beautiful, more good-looking and more charming.
They said, ‘Come, Maitrakanyaka, you are welcome. Here is our food-house and
drink-house, our clothes house and our sleeping house, abounding in various
kinds of gems, pearls, cats-eye, conch-shells, crystal, coral, gold and silver. Come,
and we will enjoy ourselves.’ He experienced pleasure with them for several years,
just like a being who has made merit and done good deeds. They prohibited him
from going along the path south, but being forbidden from the southern road only
made him want to go there more. Again he went along that path to the south and
saw a city called Nandana (Beautiful). He arrived at the gate, and sixteen celestial
nymphs came out, who were even more beautiful, more good-looking and more
45
The term avalokayan means more literally ‘looking back on’, but the purpose is clear.
46
Another form of currency, which MMW says is a ‘measure of silver’.
47
See BHSD entry for pauruṣeya for its meaning of ‘servant’ or, in this and parallel mentions, a type
of crewman. As Edgerton notes, only four types are actually named - āhāra, nāvika, kaivarta and
karṇadhāra – the roles of which are not clear; my translation is tentative in this regard.
48
This feature of the story resonates with the Valāhassa-jātaka (Jātakatthavaṇṇanā 196) and its
parallels, in which a caravan of merchants is shipwrecked on an island, seduced by demonesses,
and prohibited from going south in case they should discover the iron prison in which previous
victims had been incarcerated. For a study of the various versions of this story see Appleton 2006.
16
charming. They said, ‘Come, Maitrakanyaka, you are welcome. Here is our food-
house and drink-house, our clothes house and our sleeping house, abounding in
various kinds of gems, pearls, cats-eye, conch-shells, crystal, coral, gold and
silver. Come, and we will enjoy ourselves.’ He experienced pleasure with them for
several years, just like a being who has made merit and done good deeds. They too
prohibited him from going along the path south, but being forbidden from the
southern road only made him want to go there more. So once again he went along
that path to the south and saw a palace called Brahmottara (Highest Brahmā). He
arrived at the gate, and thirty-two celestial nymphs came out, who were even
more beautiful, more good-looking and more charming. They said, ‘Come,
Maitrakanyaka, you are welcome. Here is our food-house and drink-house, our
clothes house and our sleeping house, abounding in various kinds of gems, pearls,
cats-eye, conch-shells, crystal, coral, gold and silver. Come, and we will enjoy
ourselves.’ He experienced pleasure with them for several years, just like a being
who has made merit and done good deeds. They too prohibited him from going
along the path south, but being forbidden from the southern road only made him
want to go there more.
“When he went along that path to the south his wishes came to pass, so yet
again he went along the path to the south, and he saw a city made of iron. He
went in, and the moment that he had entered the gate closed. Then he went into
the inner part, and that gate closed. Then he went further inside and there saw a
man of great stature. A wheel made of iron turned on his head, blazing and
burning, flaming like a single flame. Pus and blood oozed from his head and this
was his food. Maitrakanyaka asked that man, ‘O person, who are you?’ He replied,
‘I am someone who injured his mother.’ And the moment that man gave this
explanation, Maitrakanyaka’s action faced him: ‘I too am someone who injured his
mother! I think that I have been drawn here in this way because of that action.’ At
that moment a voice appeared in the sky: ‘He who was bound is freed! He who was
free is bound!’ The moment this was said, the wheel vanished from that person’s
head and appeared on the head of Maitrakanyaka. Then, observing Maitrakanyaka
suffering, that person pronounced this verse:
‘Having passed through Ramaṇaka, Sadāmatta and Nandana,
and Brahmottara Palace, why did you come here?’
Maitrakanyaka told him:
‘Having passed through Ramaṇaka, Sadāmatta and Nāndana,
and Brahmottara Palace according to my wish, I came here.
For karma drags one a long way, karma continues a long time;
Karma drags one to a place where the karma ripens.
Because of the ripening of karma the wheel is borne on my head,
blazing and flaming, oppressing my life-breath.’
The person said:
‘With wicked thoughts you mistreated your mother,
striking her on the head with your foot. This is the fruit of that action.’
Maitrakanyaka said:
‘For how many thousands of years will this wheel turn on my head,
blazing and flaming, oppressing my life-breath?’
The person declared:
‘For sixty-thousand years and sixty-hundred years
this wheel of blazing iron will revolve on your head.’
17
Maitrakanyaka said, ‘O person, will anyone else also come here?’ The man replied,
‘Someone who has done this kind of deed.’
“Then Maitrakanyaka, experiencing painful feelings, generated
compassion towards these beings and said to the man, ‘I wish, O man, for the sake
of all beings, to bear this wheel upon my head. Let not anyone else who has done
this kind of deed come here!’ The moment he said this, the wheel flew up from
Maitrakanyaka the Bodhisattva’s head to a height of seven palm trees and stayed
there in the sky. And having met his time, he arose amongst the gods in the Tuṣita
heaven.”49
The Exalted One said, “What do you think, monks? He who at that time and
on that occasion was Maitrakanyaka, that was me. I did business and presented
kārṣāpaṇas to my mother, and through the ripening of that act of mine I
experienced much pleasure in the four great cities. But I slightly injured my
mother, and because of the ripening of that act I experienced the suffering of this
kind. Therefore, monks, you should train in this way: We will honour our mother
and father and not do them injury. Let there be no faults here like those of
Maitrakanyaka or of that ordinary man, but only let there be these qualities of the
sons of the gods. In this way, monks, you should train. For what reason? Because,
monks, a son’s parents do difficult things, nourishing and supporting him,
cherishing him and giving him milk, showing him the wonderful Jambūdvīpa
continent. A son who would carry his mother on one shoulder and his father on
the second for a full one hundred years, or who [would give them] the gems,
pearls, cats-eye, conch-shells, crystal, coral, silver, gold, emeralds, sapphires,50
rubies and right-spiraling conches on this great earth, or who would establish
them in majesty and sovereignty and suchlike, even that son would still not have
served or benefited his mother and father enough. But someone who introduces
his mother and father who are without faith to the riches of faith, educates them
in it, bestows it upon them and establishes them in it; or if they are without
virtue, introduces virtue to them, educates them in it, bestows it upon them and
establishes them in it; or in the riches of generosity if they are mean, or in the
riches of wisdom if they are lacking wisdom; that son would have served and
benefited his mother and father enough.”
37. The Hare
Śrāvastī in the Jeta Grove, the garden of Anāthapiṇḍada. In Śrāvastī was a certain
49
In contrast to this version, in the versions of the story in the Jātakatthavaṇṇanā (numbers 82, 104,
369 and 439) Maitrakanyaka (or, in Pāli, Mittavindaka) is not the Bodhisattva. Rather he is a bad
man who meets his comeuppance in a hell realm, and is visited there by a god (=Bodhisattva).
50
The exact meaning of musāragalva is unclear, with possible meanings including cats-eye gem and
coral, as well as sapphire. Since the former two have already appeared in this list I have chosen the
latter. See BHSD.
18
guildsman, who was rich, of great wealth and property. His possessions were
broad and extensive, and he was furnished with wealth like Vaiśravaṇa, rivaling
Vaiśravaṇa’s wealth. He took a wife from a similar family, and he played with her
and made love to her and amused himself. After some time of playing, love-
making and enjoyment, it happened that a being entered his wife.51 After eight or
nine months she gave birth, and a little boy was born. He grew up to be big and
strong. His father lost all his wealth, and his possessions wasted away, and having
numerous friends, relations and kinsmen, he sent his son to them from time to
time. He was indulged by those relations so that he became very affectionate
towards them.
On a certain occasion he set out for the Jeta Grove, and there he saw the
Buddha, the Exalted One, adorned with the thirty-two marks of a great man and
the eighty minor marks, with splendid limbs and arrayed with light that extended
a fathom, radiance in excess of a thousand suns, handsome in his entirety like a
living mountain of jewels. He developed faith and honoured the feet of the
Exalted One, and sat before him ready to hear the dharma. The Exalted One gave a
dharma talk that created disgust with saṃsāra, and hearing this he became one
who sees the faults in saṃsāra and the qualities in nirvāṇa. Having sought
permission from his parents he went forth in the dispensation of the Exalted One.
But having thus renounced, he dwelled amongst his relations. Then the Exalted
One restrained him from contact with householders and directed him to the
forest, but that did not please him. Three times the Exalted One restrained him
from contact with the householders: ‘Dear one, there are many faults and offences
in associating with householders. There are forms that are perceived by the eyes
as lovely, desirable, beloved, dear, agreeable, conducive to pleasure, and
delightful, sounds perceived by the ear, smells perceived by the nose, flavours
perceived by the tongue, contacts perceived by the body, and dharmas perceived
by the mind as lovely, desirable, beloved, dear, agreeable, conducive to pleasure,
and delightful, but that are really like thorns.’ And he praised in many ways the
qualities of the forest, in which, for one established there, skillful dharmas
increase. At last that son of a good family came to the Exalted One, his skillful
friend, and took up residence in the forest. And by applying himself, striving and
exerting, he understood that this fivefold wheel of rebirth is in constant motion.
Having rejected all conditioned things as being characterised by decay, decline,
destruction and ruin, through destroying all the defilements he achieved the state
of arhatship. Having become an arhat he was free from passions in the threefold
universe. He considered mud and gold to be the same, thought the sky to be the
same as the palm of his hand, and was indifferent alike to an axe or sandalwood.
Having attained knowledge (vidyā), supernormal knowledges (abhijñā) and special
knowledges (pratisamvid), he turned away from the benefits of longing to attain
worldly existence. He became worthy of honour, devotion and salutation for the
gods including Indra and his younger brother.52 He recalled his former lives and
saw the incredibly difficult feats of the Exalted One. He approached the Exalted
One and respectfully praised and honoured him.
51
In other words she conceived, which requires, as we learnt in an earlier story, that a gandharva is
standing by ready to take a rebirth.
52
sendropendrāṇāṃ. Upendra is often used to refer to Kṛṣṇa or Viṣṇu. The presence of a plural
rather than dual form is not unusual in Buddhist Sanskrit.
19
The monks became doubtful, and questioned the Exalted One, the Buddha,
remover of all doubts: “See, sir, how this son of a good family was three times
restrained by the Exalted One from interaction with householders and directed to
the forest, and there was established in arhatship.” The Exalted One said, “O
monks, what is the wonder in this now, if through me, who has eradicated
attachment, hatred and delusion, who is free from birth, ageing, sickness, death,
grief, lamentation, suffering, melancholy and mental anguish, and is all-knowing,
knowledgeable in all ways, master of all that is to be known, this son of a good
family was three times restrained from interaction with householders and
directed to the forest, and was there established in arhatship? In times past, when
I was affected by attachment, hatred and delusion, and was not free from birth,
ageing, sickness, death, grief, lamentation, suffering, melancholy and mental
anguish, this son of a noble family was restrained from contact with householders
and directed to the forest because of me sacrificing my own life. Listen, monks.
Focus your minds on the good and the right and I will explain.”
“Formerly, monks, in times past, in a certain mountain cave that was
furnished with springs, flowers and fruits, lived a sage engaged in severe
austerities, consuming fruits, roots and water, wearing deerskin and bark-cloth,
and conducting fire sacrifices. And this sage was friends with a hare that had a
human voice. Three times every day it came near to that sage, and having
approached, it offered salutation, and then carried on a conversation with a
variety of talk. The two of them continued in strong affection, like a father and
son, until after some time a great drought came to pass, such that the rivers and
wells had little water, and the trees were deprived of flowers and fruits. Then that
sage in his hermitage was unhappy due to the lack of food. He began to throw off
his deerskin and barkcloth.
“Then, seeing what was happening, the hare asked him, ‘Great sage, where
are you going?’ The sage replied, ‘I am going to a village. There I will subsist on
cooked food.’ Hearing the sage’s words he became upset, thinking himself like one
separated from his mother and father. Falling at the sage’s feet he said, ‘Don’t
abandon me! Household-dwelling is fraught with many faults, while forest-
dwelling is abounding in good qualities!’ But despite speaking like this many
times, he could not dissuade him. So then the hare said, ‘If you are determined to
go then please wait for just one day. Tomorrow you may go as you please.’ Then
this occurred to the sage: ‘Surely he wishes to offer me some food, for these
beings who are in the form of animals keep a hoard.’ So he consented.
“Then when the daily observances were done and it was time for food, the
hare approached and circumambulated that sage and then began to ask pardon:
‘Forgive me, great sage, if I – arisen in an animal form and deprived of reason and
comprehension – have committed any fault towards you.’ Having said this he
suddenly sprung forth and landed in the fire. The sage was shocked, and with his
face clouded with tears he pulled him to his chest as if he was his dear only son
and said, ‘Dear one, what is this you are doing?’ The hare replied, ‘Great sage, out
of love for the forest you can subsist for a day and a night on my own meat.’ And:
‘There is nothing in the forest for this full-grown hare:
no beans, no sesame, no rice.
But you should today make use of this, my body,
consecrated in the fire, and live in the forest of austerities.’
Then the sage, having heard the hare’s words, experienced profound shock
(samvega) and said, ‘If this is so, out of affection for you I will willingly give up my
20
life right here, and not go down to the village outskirts!’ Hearing these words the
hare was delighted, and with his face upturned he gazed at the sky and made this
entreaty. He said:
‘Having come to the forest my heart delights in solitude!
By this statement of truth may the god rain down the rains of Great Indra!’
The moment he said this, through the power of the Bodhisattva the abode of Great
Indra shook, and the gods became aware of what was going on below, saying
‘What has happened?’ It is said that they saw because of the power of the
Bodhisattva. Because of Śakra the king of the gods, the rains of Great Indra rained
down, so that the hermitage was once again filled with an abundance of grass,
shrubs, herbs, flowers and fruits.
“Then that sage approached the hare as a spiritual friend, and living there
he realised the five superknowledges. The sage said to the hare, ‘Friend hare,
what do you wish for from this very difficult undertaking and your cultivation of
compassion?’ He said, ‘To be a Buddha in this dark world that is leaderless and
lacking a guide, to carry across those beings who have not crossed over, liberate
those who are not liberated, console those in need of consolation, bring to
complete nirvāṇa those who have not entered complete nirvāṇa.’ Then that sage,
having heard these words, said to the hare, ‘When you become a Buddha, may you
take notice of me again.’ The hare said, ‘Let it be so.’”53
The Exalted One said, “What do you think, monks? He who was at that time
and on that occasion the hare, that was me, and that sage was this son of a good
family. In this way, monks, you should train: We will dwell as good friends, good
companions, good associates, not evil friends, evil companions, evil associates. In
this way, monks, you should train.”
Then Venerable Ānanda said to the Exalted One, “Sir, when I am here alone
and solitary in retreat, this thought arises in my mind, that this is half of the
religious life, 54 namely good friendship, good companionship and good
associations, and not evil friendship, evil companionship and evil associations.”
The Exalted One said, “You should not say this, Ānanda, that this is half of the
religious life, namely good friendship, good companionship and good associations,
and not evil friendship, evil companionship and evil associations. Ānanda, this is
the entire, complete, whole, pure, accomplished religious life, namely good
friendship, good companionship and good associations, and not evil friendship,
evil companionship and evil associations. What is the reason for this? Because,
Ānanda, beings who are subject to the experience of rebirth come to me as their
spiritual friend and are liberated from the experience of rebirth, and those beings
who experience ageing, sickness, grief, death, lamentation, suffering, melancholy
and mental anguish are freed from mental anguish [etc]. In this manner, Ānanda,
it should be understood, that this is the entire, complete, whole, pure,
accomplished religious life, namely good friendship, good companionship and
53
While a story of a hare sacrificing his life is also known in the Jātakatthavaṇṇanā (316. Sasa-jātaka)
and the Jātakamālā (6. Śaśa), in these versions the story is rather different: the Bodhisattva hare
offers himself as a meal to a brahmin (Śakra in disguise) as an act of hospitality, and is rewarded
by having his form marked on the moon.
54
The term here is brahmacariya, often translated as ‘Brahma-faring’. This usually has overtones of
celibacy or adherence to monastic ideals.
21
good associations, and not evil friendship, evil companionship and evil
associations. In this way, monks, you should train.”55
Thus spoke the Exalted One, and Ānanda and the other monks were
delighted and praised the Exalted One’s speech.
38. The Dharma-seeker
Śrāvastī in the Jeta Grove, the garden of Anāthapiṇḍada. It was the householder
Anāthapiṇḍada’s habit that, having risen at dawn and approached in order to see
the Exalted One, he cleaned the Jeta Grove himself. But one time the householder
Anāthapiṇḍada was delayed, and the Exalted One, in order to show a meritorious
path to those beings who desired merit, took up the broom himself and began to
clean the Jeta Grove. Having seen the Exalted One, the great disciples –
Śāradvatīputra, Maudgalyāyana, Kāśyapa, Nanda, Revata and so on – also began to
clean. Then, having cleaned the Jeta Grove along with his disciples, he entered the
meeting hall and sat in front of the community of monks on the seat that had
been prepared. Having sat down, the Exalted One addressed the monks: “There
are these five benefits, monks, in cleaning. What five? One purifies one’s own
mind, one purifies another’s mind, one becomes attractive to the minds of the
gods, one accumulates suitable roots of skillful action, and at the break up of the
body one arises in a good destiny, a heaven realm, amongst the gods. These are
the five benefits of cleaning.”
Then the four assemblies,56 having heard the five benefits of cleaning in
the presence of the Exalted One, became faithful, their minds pleased, joyful and
happy, and getting up from their seats they raised their hands respectfully
towards the Exalted One. They said this to the Exalted One: “Exalted One, as the
Exalted One’s servants we wish to always clean the whole Jeta Grove. Grant us this
favour.” The Exalted One consented to them through his silence, and so the four
assemblies, knowing that the Exalted One had consented, took up brooms and
began to sweep the whole of the Jeta Grove. And when they had swept the whole
of the Jeta Grove as far as the grove road, they sat a little way from the Exalted
One in order to hear a dharma teaching, and listened with respect.
The householder Anāthapiṇḍada returned to that region, and he heard
that the Exalted One himself, along with his great disciples, had cleaned the Jeta
Grove. Having heard the Exalted One’s teaching on the five benefits of cleaning,
he was full of regret and reflected thus: “Oh why have I done this? It is in this
monastery of the Exalted One, a field of merit in which a seed planted today
produces fruit today also, endless fruit produced even from a small seed; this
extremely pleasant ground where all the disciples live together in the presence of
55
For a parallel to this exchange between the Buddha and Ānanda see Saṃyutta Nikāya 3.18 and
45.2 (Bodhi (trans.) 2000: 180-1 and 1524-5). It is also repeated in story 40 below.
56
This presumably refers to the monks, nuns, laymen and laywomen, though another possibility is
that it refers to four individuals amongst the assembly.
22
the Tathāgata; which is a place of happiness for all the gods, asuras, humans,
gandharvas, garuḍas, kinnaras and mahoragas, and has no place for all the malicious
beings, bhūtas, pretas, piśācas, yakṣas, rākṣasas and hell-beings; an abode that has
no place for Māra or any of Māra’s assembly, whether they are deities or humans;
in which oppression is routed; 57 in which the occurrence of greed, hatred,
delusion, selfishness, envy, pride and wickedness amongst beings is unknown;
which is not frequented by those of evil conduct and is unattractive to those
under the influence of bad friends; a place which is neither seen nor thought of by
those who are faithless or devoid of dharma and liberality; which does not cross
the mind of those of bad conduct and inappropriate living; a refuge that is not
obtained by those lacking in compassion, the angry, or harsh-speakers; which is
far away for those who are apathetic or of little vigour, or who are restless and
give up on their undertakings; which is a place of darkness for those lacking in
meditative attainments and whose memories are obscured, and for those who live
according to a wrong view, and those who are established on a wrong path; which
is not arrived at or obtained by those who have wrong understanding or other
faulty opinions and knowledge; which is extremely pleasing to the generous and a
place of great delight for those intent on moral conduct; which is approached
respectfully and obtained by those living with patience; which is arrived at and
gained by those who are always vigorous in their undertakings; a place for those
who love meditation to abide; which is a field never lacking in understanding and
clarity for those who maintain wisdom; it is in this type of monastery, that is a
plaything for the Buddha, that I have thrown away my intention to clean! But I
will never do this again!” Having resolved on that, this occurred to him: “When
the Exalted One, along with his great disciples, did the cleaning himself, how can I
approach him?” So Anāthapiṇḍada stood there, visibly embarrassed, his heart
afflicted by shame.
Exalted Ones, Buddhas, though knowing [the answers], ask questions, and
so he asked the monks, “What is going on?” The monks replied, “Sir,
Anāthapiṇḍada, embarrassed in mind and body and with his heart afflicted by
shame, does not wish to approach, to even place a foot down here, in the vicinity
of the Exalted One, precisely because the Exalted One, together with his great
disciples, cleaned the Jeta Grove himself.” Then the Exalted One said, “The
householder should be brought here to hear58 the words of the Buddha. Why?
Because Exalted Ones, Buddhas, regard the true dharma as venerable, for the
dharma is venerable to arhats.” Then Anāthapiṇḍada, at the singing of this verse
approached the place where the Exalted One was. Having approached he
worshipped the feet of the Exalted One and sat down before him, a little way
apart, in order to hear a dharma talk. Then the Exalted One taught, inspired,
incited and pleased him with a dharma talk. In many ways the Exalted One
proceeded to teach, inspire, incite and please him with a dharma talk.
Then the monks became doubtful and questioned the Exalted One, the
Buddha, destroyer of all doubts: “It is a marvel, sir, that the Exalted One, being
respectful of and reverential towards the dharma, should speak in praise of the
dharma like this. See, sir, how these beings have become vessels for the jewel of
the dharma, such that they have reverently set about cleaning all of the Jeta
57
The term bhagnābhibhavajāte could be interpreted in a variety of ways, with abhibhava carrying a
range of meanings surrounding oppression, mastery, humiliation and so on.
58
Following Speyer’s reconstruction (1958: 217 n. 2).
23
Grove, and they regard the dharma as worthy of hearing.” The Exalted One said,
“What is the marvel in this now, monks, if the Tathāgata, who has destroyed
greed, hatred and delusion, and is completely free from birth, ageing, sickness,
death, grief, lamentation, suffering, melancholy and mental anguish, should be
respectful of and reverential towards the dharma and speak in praise of the
dharma. For in times past, when I was affected by greed, hatred and delusion, and
was not free from birth, ageing, sickness, death, grief, lamentation, suffering,
melancholy and mental anguish, sacrificed even my own life for the sake of the
dharma. Listen, focus your minds on the good and the right, and I will explain.”
completely free from troubles. And that king was faithful and good, of virtuous
intentions, dedicated to the good of others as well as his own benefit,
compassionate, great-hearted, devoted to the dharma, affectionate towards his
family, and a giver of great gifts, being generous with everything, renouncing
everything, giving up without attachment. On a certain occasion he played with
his wife, made love to her and amused himself with her. And after some time,
from that play and love-making and amusement, that queen became pregnant.
She had a pregnancy craving:59 ‘I would listen to a good speech!’ She told the king,
and the king summoned soothsayers and questioned them. They said, ‘Your
majesty, this is a consequence of the being [who has descended into her womb].’
So the king, in order to get a good speaker, had a golden casket travel through
villages, cities, towns, districts, and the capital, but no good speaker could be
found. Meanwhile, after nine months had passed she gave birth. A boy was born
who was well-formed, beautiful, pleasing, brilliant, golden-coloured, with a
parasol-shaped head, pendulous arms, a broad forehead, a loud voice, eyebrows
that joined, a prominent nose, and furnished with all the major and subsidiary
limbs. When he was born they celebrated his birth-festival and fixed the naming
ceremony. ‘What should be this boy’s name?’ The courtiers said, ‘Because this boy
desired good speech (subhāṣitaṃ gaveṣate) even before his birth, the boy’s name
should be Subhāṣitagaveṣi (Desirous of good speech).’60 And so he was named
Subhāṣitagaveṣi. The child Subhāṣitagaveṣi was given eight nurses: two shoulder-
nurses, two wet-nurses, two nurses to play with and two nurses to keep him clean.
He was raised by these eight nurses, nourished with milk, coagulated milk, fresh
butter, clarified butter, clarified butter extract, and served with various other hot
foods. He grew quickly, like a lotus in a lake. And when in due course he had
grown up, even then he desired good speech and did not get it.
“When his father passed away, he was established in the kingship. He
commanded his courtiers: ‘Chiefs, my purpose is good speech. I desire good
speech.’ Those courtiers paraded the golden casket through the whole of
Jambūdvīpa for the sake of good speech, but they did not find good speech. They
59
The dohada, or pregnancy craving, is a common motif in Indian narrative. The experiences of the
mother during pregnancy are intimately related to the character and karmic inheritance of the
child she is carrying.
60
The implication would appear to be that subhāṣita is here equivalent to dharma, hence the title of
this story: Dharmagaveṣī.
24
reported this to the king. The king was tormented with longing on account of
wishing to hear good speech.
“It happened that Śakra, king of the gods, saw and knew what was going on
below. He saw the king frustrated in his efforts to hear good speech, and it
occurred to him, ‘What if I were to test this king?’ So Śakra the king of the gods
took on the form of a guhyaka, altering his hands, feet and eyes, and spoke this
verse before the king:
‘One should live the dharma, behaving well; one should not behave badly.
One who lives according to the dharma is happy in this world and the next.’
Then the king, gazing at him with eyes wide in amazement, said to the guhyaka,
‘Speak, speak to me, guhyaka! I would hear these verses!’ Then the guhyaka said to
the king, ‘If I am to speak thus, you should do something for me, just as I am going
to do as you command.’ The king said, ‘What do you command?’ The guhyaka
replied, ‘If, having burned a fire in the stove with acacia wood for seven days and
nights, you cast yourself in there, then I will speak another verse for you.’ Hearing
that the king was delighted and said to that guhyaka, ‘Let it be so.’ Then the king,
having made this promise to the guhyaka, had it proclaimed with gongs
throughout his realm: ‘In seven days the king, in order to hear good speech, will
cast himself into the oven. Whoever wishes to see wonders should come!’
“Then several hundred thousand beings assembled, and several hundred
thousand deities assembled in the sky, and having approached because of the
pure resolve of the Bodhisattva, they remained there to see the marvel.61 Then the
guhyaka flew up into the sky and said to the Bodhisattva, ‘Great king, you should
do what you agreed.’ The king consecrated his eldest son in the kingship, asked
pardon of his courtiers and the city and country folk, and comforted the people in
general. Having come close to that oven, he spoke this verse:
‘This charcoal oven, terrifying like the red blazing sun,
I hasten towards for the sake of dharma, without hesitation or fear for my life.
And this fiery oven will become, through the power of my virtuous merit,
a cool lotus pool filled with lotuses, its water perfumed with sandal-paste.’
Having said this, the Bodhisattva fell into the fiery oven, and at the moment that
he fell into it, the fiery oven appeared as a lotus pool. Then Śakra the king of the
gods, seeing this great wonder, that marvel that humbled gods and men, cast off
his appearance as a yakṣa and, standing in his own form, spoke the verse:
‘One should live the dharma, behaving well; one should not behave badly.
One who lives according to the dharma is happy in this world and the next.’
Then the Bodhisattva took up that verse and had it written on a golden plate and
circulated through the villages, cities, towns, countries and capital cities in the
whole of Jambudvīpa.”
on that occasion was the king, that was me. Even then for the sake of hearing
good speech I gave up my own life, how much more so now. Therefore in this way
you should train, monks: We will honour, praise, respect and worship the dharma,
and having honoured, praised, respected and worshipped the dharma we will live
in reliance upon it. In this way, monks, you should train.”
61
On the problematic nature of this sentence see Speyer 1958: 221 n. 4.
25
39. Anāthapiṇḍada
Śrāvastī in the Jeta Grove, the garden of Anāthapiṇḍada. Now the Exalted One in
the morning got dressed, and taking his robe and bowl entered Śrāvastī for alms,
and wandering in due course he went down the royal road. And there on the royal
road a certain brahmin approached, and he saw the Buddha, the Exalted One
adorned with the thirty-two marks of a great man and the eighty minor marks,
with splendid limbs and arrayed with light that extended a fathom, radiance in
excess of a thousand suns, handsome in his entirety like a living mountain of
jewels. Having seen him he gazed at him for a long time and then drew a line in
the earth and said to the Exalted One, “O Gautama, you may not cross this line
without giving me five-hundred purāṇas.” Then the Exalted One, in order to
demonstrate the consequences of actions, and in order to abstain from taking
what is not given, remained on that spot like a threshold stone.62
This sound spread throughout Śrāvastī – that apparently the Exalted One
had been detained by a brahmin on the royal road asking for five hundred
purāṇas. Then King Prasenajit the Kośalan heard this and, with his entourage of
courtiers, went to where the Exalted One was. Having approached he said this to
the Exalted One: “Go, Exalted One! I will make the payment.” The Exalted One
said, “No, great king, it is not for you to pay, it is for another to pay.” Then
Viśākhā the mother of Mṛgāra,63 the officials Ṛṣidatta and Purāṇa,64 the gods Śakra
and Brahmā and so on, and the four world-guardians beginning with Vaiśravaṇa,
took gold and coins and approached the Exalted One. But the Exalted One said to
them too, “It should not be paid by these honourable ones.” Then the householder
Anāthapiṇḍada heard about it, and filling baskets with gold and coins and taking
an additional five hundred purāṇas he approached the Exalted One: “Exalted One,
accept this.” The Exalted One replied, “Householder, you should pay this. Give it
to the brahmin.” And so the householder Anāthapiṇḍada gave the basket of gold
to the brahmin.
The monks became doubtful, as did the assembled company and the king,
and they questioned the Exalted One, the Buddha, the remover of all doubts: “See,
Exalted One, how this brahmin detained the Exalted One and Anāthapiṇḍada gave
him kārṣāpaṇas. How did it come about that he could obstruct the Exalted One?”
The Exalted One said, “Do you wish to hear about it, monks?” “Indeed, sir.” “Then
listen, monks, concentrate your minds on the good and the right, and I will
explain. O monks, in other previous births the Tathāgata performed and
accumulated these actions, which became inevitable. Who else will experience
their results? O monks, deeds done do not mature in the earth element, nor in the
62
An indrakīla is a post or stone used to mark a threshold. The implications are of strength and
motionlessness. See BHSD.
63
Viśākhā was the foremost laywoman in the Buddha’s time, and lived in Śrāvastī. See DPPN entry
for ‘5. Visākhā’ for an explanation for why she is referred to as the mother of Mṛgāra.
64
These two officers (sthapatī) of Prasenajit are always mentioned together. See DPPN ‘2. Isidatta’
for an account of their interactions with the Buddha.
26
water element, nor in the fire element, nor in the wind element. Rather, deeds
done, whether pure or impure, ripen in what is enumerated as the aggregates, the
physical elements and the elements of sense-experience.”
“Actions do not disappear even after a hundred billion aeons.
When they have reached completion and it is time, they fruit for living
beings.”65
completely free from troubles. His eldest son was the crown prince, and on a
certain occasion during spring, when the trees were blossoming and it was
resounding with the cries of geese, cranes, peacocks, parrots, mynahs, cuckoos
and pheasants, he sported and played in a wooded park, with a retinue of
courtiers’ sons. One of his friends, the son of a courtier, played a game of dice with
another man. That courtier’s son lost five hundred purāṇas to the other man, and
the king’s son provided surety for the debt. […]66 Thus during my transmigration I
experienced endless misfortunes concerning my wealth, and even now my
completely awakened buddhahood is oppressed by him. For thus, monks, entirely
black deeds have entirely black fruits, entirely white deeds have entirely white
fruits, and mixed deeds have mixed fruits. Therefore, monks, having cast aside
black deeds and those that are mixed, one should direct oneself to performing
deeds that are wholly white. And one should strive to avoid taking what is not
given, as were the kind of faults he had.67 In this way, O monks, you should train.”
40. Subhadra
Kuśinagarī, in the country of the Mallas, in the grove of the twin śāla trees. At the
time of the Exalted One’s parinirvāṇa he addressed Venerable Ānanda: “Ānanda,
prepare a raised couch for the Tathāgata, between the twin śāla trees, with its
head facing north. Today, in the middle watch of the night, the Tathāgata will
65
Compare the similar passage in story 31, where it is more developed, in common with
occurrences elsewhere in the text. The verse here has an extra word – koṭi, which I have translated
as ‘billion’.
66
A part of the story is missing here, in Speyer’s Sanskrit manuscripts and in the Tibetan. See
Speyer 1958: 225-6. The missing text must specify, one assumes, that the Buddha was this prince
who gave surety for the debt but never paid it, that Anāthapiṇḍada was the friend who lost the
game, and that the brahmin was the other man. Indeed, this series of identifications is given in
one of Speyer’s manuscripts (1958: 226 n.1) as well as in Feer’s text (1979: 150) though in both
cases somewhat later than one might expect.
67
It is not clear whether ‘he’ refers to the prince (the Bodhisattva) or his friend (the past life of
Anāthapiṇḍada).
27
become completely extinguished, in the nirvāṇa element that is without

remainder.”68 “Yes, sir,” replied the venerable Ānanda to the Exalted One, and he
prepared a raised couch between the two śāla trees with its head facing north, and
then approached the Exalted One. Having approached he honoured the Exalted
One’s feet with his head and stood to one side. Standing to one side, Venerable
Ānanda said this to the Exalted One: “Sir, the raised couch, between the two śāla
trees and with its head pointing north, is ready for the Tathāgata.” Then the
Exalted One approached that couch, and having approached it he lay down on his
right side, placing one foot on the other, conscious of the world,69 mindful and
fully aware, and turned his mind to consideration of nirvāṇa.
At that time the wandering mendicant (parivrājaka) Subhadra was living in
Kuśinagarī, and he was of advancing years, old and frail.70 He, being one hundred
and twenty years old, was honoured, praised, respected and worshipped by the
Mallas who lived in Kuśinagarī, and he was believed to be an arhat. The mendicant
Subhadra heard that in the middle watch of the night the śramaṇa Gautama was
going to become completely extinguished in the nirvāṇa element that is without
remainder. He thought, “I have doubt regarding the dharmas, and expectation still
abides in me. This Exalted One Gautama has the power to dispel that doubt of
mine.” So having heard this he left Kuśinagarī and went to that grove of the twin
śāla trees.
At that time Venerable Ānanda was walking on the walkway in the open
air outside the monastery, and the mendicant Subhadra saw Venerable Ānanda.
Having seen him from afar, he approached Venerable Ānanda, and having
approached he exchanged various suitably friendly and pleasant greetings with
Venerable Ānanda, and then stood to one side. Standing to one side Subhadra the
mendicant said to Venerable Ānanda, “O Ānanda, I heard that today, in the middle
watch of the night, the śramaṇa Gautama going to become completely
extinguished in the nirvāṇa element that is without remainder. I have doubt
regarding the dharmas, and expectation still abides in me. This Exalted One
Gautama has the power to dispel that doubt of mine. Ānanda, if it is not
troublesome to the Exalted One,71 I would enter and question him on a certain
matter, if you would allow me in for an answer to my question.” Ānanda replied,
“Enough, Subhadra. Do not trouble the Exalted One. The Exalted One is tired of
body; the Well-farer is exhausted of body.” A second and a third time the
mendicant Subhadra said this to Venerable Ānanda: “O Ānanda, I heard that
today, in the middle watch of the night, the śramaṇa Gautama is going to become
completely extinguished in the nirvāṇa element that is without remainder. I have
doubt regarding the dharmas, and expectation still abides in me. This Exalted One
Gautama has the power to dispel that doubt of mine. Ānanda, if it is not
troublesome to the Exalted One, I would enter and question him on a certain
68
The phrase nirupadhiśeṣe nirvāṇadhātau parinirvāṇaṃ bhaviṣyati is tricky to render. In English
translations we often talk of someone ‘entering nirvāṇa’, though it might be closer syntactically to
speak of someone ‘nirvāṇising’, or, here, ‘becoming completely nirvāṇised’.
69
As Speyer notes (1958: 228 n. 1) it is difficult to surmise what ālokasaṃjño might mean. Vaidya’s
reading alokasaṃjño is no better. I have followed Speyer’s suggested emendation to lokasaṃjñī.
70
The story of Subhadra’s initiation as the last of the Buddha’s personal disciples is familiar from
other stories of the Buddha’s last days. Compare the Mahāparinibbāna Sutta (Dīgha Nikāya 16);
Walshe (trans.) 1995: 267-9. No past-life stories are told in that account.
71
Following Speyer’s conjecture (1958: 229 n. 2) that bhavata should be bhagavata, and thus refer to
the Buddha rather than to Ānanda. This applies also to the repetition that follows.
28
matter, if you would allow me in for an answer to my question.” But a second and
a third time Venerable Ānanda said this to the mendicant Subhadra: “Enough,
Subhadra. Do not trouble the Tathāgata. The Exalted One is tired of body; the
Well-farer is exhausted of body.” Then Subhadra the mendicant said to Venerable
Ānanda: “O Ānanda, I have heard from the elderly mendicants of old, from
buddhas and great wandering teachers, 72 that tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly
awakened buddhas, arise in the world as rarely as the udumbara flower.73 And
today in the middle watch of the night, the Exalted One Gautama is going to
become completely extinguished in the nirvāṇa element that is without
remainder. I have doubt regarding the dharmas, and expectation still abides in me.
This Exalted One Gautama has the power to dispel that doubt of mine. Ānanda, if
it is not troublesome to the Exalted One, I would enter and question him on a
certain matter, if you would allow me in for an answer to my question.” But again
Venerable Ānanda said to Subhadra the mendicant: “Enough, Subhadra. Do not
trouble the Tathāgata. The Exalted One is tired of body; the Well-farer is
exhausted of body.”
Then the Exalted One heard, with his purified divine ear that surpassed
human power, Venerable Ānanda’s problematic conversation with the mendicant
Subhadra. Having heard it, he said to Venerable Ānanda, “Enough, Ānanda. Do not
restrain the mendicant Subhadra. Let him enter and question me as he wishes to.
This will be the final conversation I have with mendicants from another sect, and
this – namely the mendicant Subhadra – will be the last of the followers I call
forth in person by saying ‘Come, monk!’” Then the mendicant Subhadra, having
been granted permission by the Exalted One, was pleased, happy and delighted,
and having become intensely joyful and contented he approached the Exalted
One. And having approached he exchanged various suitably friendly and pleasant
greetings with the Exalted One, and then sat to one side. Seated to one side
Subhadra the mendicant said this to the Exalted One: “O Gautama, there are these
various sectarian teachers 74 in the world, namely Pūraṇa Kāśyapa, Māskarī
Gośālīputra, Sañjayī Vairūṭīputra, Ajita Keśakambala, Kakuda Kātyāyana and
Nirgrantha Jñātaputra. Explain to me each of their teachings.”75
So at that time the Exalted One spoke these verses:
“Subhadra, I was twenty-nine years old,
when I went forth in search of the good.
More than fifty years have passed,
since I went forth, Subhadra.
Good conduct, meditative practice and wisdom,
and one-pointedness of mind were cultivated by me,
72
This is just one of several possible readings of purāṇāṃ parivrājakānām antikāj jīrṇānāṃ
buddhānāṃ mahatāṃ caraṇācāryāṇām. The meaning, however, is clear: all the best teachers know
that the opportunity to meet a full and perfect Buddha is rare indeed.
73
Ficus Glomerata or Ficus Racemosa. The flowers cannot be seen as they are within the fruit. A
legend therefore emerged that the tree only flowers extremely rarely.
74
This is a rather loose translation of tīrthyāyatanāni, but the meaning is clear. The term tīrthika
(Pāli titthiya) is often translated as ‘heretic’, as it is usually used in a disparaging sense to refer to
rival schools or sects. However, the use of the term with the prefix anya- (‘other’) as in the
Buddha’s speech to Ānanda above (or also, elsewhere, with para-), implies that a Buddhist is also a
tīrthika. It is therefore perhaps best to talk of different ‘schools’ or ‘sects’ rather than ‘heretical
groups’, which in any case is a theologically loaded term.
75
Speyer suggests (1958: 231 n.8) that some of the prose is missing here, such that we do not have
the full exchange.
29
and I spoke the way of the noble dharma;

There is no other śramaṇa outside this.”76
“Subhadra, in whatever dharma and discipline the eightfold path of the noble ones
is not found, there is found no first [type of] śramaṇa, and nor is a second, third or
fourth [type of] śramaṇa found there.77 But, Subhadra, in a dharma and discipline
in which the eightfold path of the noble ones is found, the first [type of] śramaṇa is
found there, and śramaṇas of the second, third and fourth [type] are found there.
Subhadra, in this dharma and discipline here in which the eightfold path of the
noble ones is found, the first [type of] śramaṇa is found, and here the second, here
the third, and here the fourth. There are no śramaṇas or brahmins outside this,
and false teachings are empty, whether by śramaṇas or brahmins. Thus I roar
forth with my accomplished lion’s roar in this assembly!”
Now while he was speaking about this way of the dharma, the dharma-eye
that is pure and free from dust arose for the mendicant Subhadra with regard to
the dharmas. Then the mendicant Subhadra, having seen dharmas, obtained
dharmas, penetrated dharmas, crossed over his desires and passed beyond doubt,
no longer dependent on others or led by others, fully confident in regard to the
dharmas taught by the Teacher. He got up from his seat, placed his upper robe
over his shoulder, and, raising his hands in respect towards Venerable Ānanda, he
said to Venerable Ānanda, “Sir, Ānanda has obtained a great gain, in that Ānanda
has been consecrated as the pupil of a great teacher, by the great teacher, the
Exalted One. But we too would obtain that great gain, we would take the going
forth into the well-proclaimed dharma and discipline and become ordained as a
monk.” So Venerable Ānanda said to the Exalted One, “Sir, this mendicant
Subhadra wishes to go forth into the well-proclaimed dharma and discipline and
become ordained as a monk.” The Exalted One addressed the mendicant
Subhadra: “Come, monk. Live the religious life.” And he went forth under that
venerable one,78 and ordained, becoming a monk.
Having gone forth like this, the venerable one roamed about withdrawn
and solitary, mindful, zealous, and exerting himself. In order to live alone,
withdrawn, mindful, zealous and exerting oneself, noble sons remove their hair
and beards, clothe themselves in ochre robes and with complete faith go forth
from their homes into homelessness. He saw the perfect ideal of unsurpassed
religious life, realized and obtained knowledge of the dharma himself, and
declared: “Birth is destroyed for me! I have lived the holy life and done what
needed to be done. I know I have no further rebirth.” He became possessed of
perfect knowledge, venerable, an arhat, completely liberated. Then this occurred
to the venerable Subhadra who had obtained arhatship and recognized the
happiness of liberation: “It is not proper that I should see the Teacher enter
complete nirvāṇa. So I will enter complete nirvāṇa first.” And so Venerable
Subhadra achieved complete nirvāṇa first of all, and after him the Exalted One.
When Subhadra was established in arhatship by the Exalted One, who had
come to his last resting place, during the time when painful feelings were
76
For the metrical and other problems with these verses see Speyer 1958: 231-2. Compare the
parallel verses in the Mahāparinibbāna Sutta (Dīgha Nikāya 16).
77
Presumably this is a reference to the stream-enterer, once-returner, non-returner and arhat.
78
The use of āyuṣman (‘venerable’, ‘long-lived’) here and in the next sentence is odd, since it is
usually used in reference to Ānanda. Perhaps the text is implying that after being called forth by
the Buddha himself, Subhadra took formal initiation from Ānanda. Quite why Subhadra is then
referred to as āyuṣman himself is even harder to explain, though he is of course long-lived.
30
impeding his dharma, when his dharmas were being cut through79 and he was
being freed from bonds, and when many Mallas of Kuśinagarī were directed to the
dharma, at that time the monks became doubtful and questioned the Exalted One,
the Buddha, remover of all doubts: “It is a wonder, sir, that the Exalted One freed
this mendicant Subhadra from the net of saṃsāra and established him in the
endless state of nirvāṇa, even when his dharmas were being cut through and he
was being freed from bonds.” The Exalted One said, “What is the marvel in this
now, monks, when I have made an end of greed, hatred and delusion, and am
completely freed from birth, ageing, sickness, death, grief, lamentation, suffering,
melancholy and mental anguish, that I have freed the mendicant Subhadra from
the net of saṃsāra and established him in the endless state of nirvāṇa? In times
past, when I experienced greed, hatred and delusion, and was not freed from
birth, ageing, sickness, death, grief, lamentation, suffering, melancholy and
mental anguish, and was deprived of reason and comprehension having arisen in
an animal birth, I saved Subhadra and the Mallas of Kuśinagarī by giving up my
own life. Listen, fix your minds on the good and the right, and I will explain.”
“Formerly, monks, in times past, in a certain mountain cave lived the head
of a herd of deer, surrounded by many thousands of deer. He was wise, learned
and astute. Having investigated that herd of deer a hunter made it known to the
king, and then went out with the king and his four-limbed army and surrounded
the whole herd of deer. Then it occurred to the leader of the herd, ‘If I do not
protect them now, this very day they will all come to nothing.’ So that leader of
the herd began to examine all sides: ‘In which direction may this family of deer
find refuge?’ And he saw in that mountain cave a river going along, and that river
had a swift current that could carry away a mountain.80 And those deer were
weak, so the leader of the herd at once entered that river and stood in the middle,
and shouted out: ‘Come, sirs! Jump up from this bank, place your feet on my back
and stand firm on the other shore. By this means I foresee you have life; otherwise
it is death!’ Those deer did so, and because of their hooves falling on his back his
skin was cut, so that he appeared like a heap of flesh, blood and bones. But he did
not give up his resolve, remaining compassionate towards those deer. When they
had all crossed over from his back he began to look: ‘Let there be nobody else who
has not crossed over.’ He saw a young deer who had not crossed, and so that
leader of the deer, though his body was being cut up and he was being freed from
bonds,81 not caring about his own dear life, he crossed to the bank, mounted the
young deer on his back, crossed the river and placed him on the shore. Seeing
that the herd of deer had crossed, at the moment of his death he made an
aspiration: ‘Just as I have made a gift of my own dear life for these deer and this
young deer, and saved them from disaster, in the same way may I in a future time,
when I have attained unsurpassed perfect and full awakening, liberate them from
the net of saṃsāra.’”
on that occasion was the leader of the deer, that was me. The Mallas of Kuśinagarī
were these deer, and this Subhadra was the young deer.”
79
In this passage, dharma is being used in the sense of elements, bodily and mental. So the
Buddha’s body is afflicted by pain, not his teaching, and the factors that make up the Buddha are
being cut off as he enters parinirvāṇa.
80
For this translation of ahāryahāriṇīṃ see BHSD p. 85-6.
81
Instead of the chidyamāneṣu dharmeṣu mucyamānāsu saṃghiṣu as found earlier in relation to the
Buddha, here we have marmaṣu (‘mortal parts, vulnerable bits of the body’) in place of dharmeṣu.
31
The monks became doubtful and questioned the Exalted One, the Buddha,
the remover of all doubt: “What actions had Subhadra done in order to be the last
personal disciple?” The Exalted One said, “In other former births, monks,
Subhadra performed and accumulated actions.82 These do not ripen in the earth
element, nor in the water element, nor in the fire element, nor in the wind
element. Rather, deeds done, whether pure or impure, ripen in what are
enumerated as the aggregates, the physical elements and the elements of sense-
experience.”
“Actions do not disappear even after a hundred billion aeons.
When they have reached completion and it is time, they fruit for living beings.”
“Formerly, monks, in times past in this Bhadra Aeon,83 when a human life-
span was twenty-thousand years, a fully awakened one named Kāśyapa arose in
the world – perfect in wisdom and conduct, well-farer, unsurpassed knower of the
world, trainer of those ready to be trained, teacher of gods and men, Buddha,
Exalted One. He lived near to the city of Vārāṇasī, in the deer-park at Ṛṣipatana.
That Exalted One, the perfect and full Buddha Kāśyapa, had a nephew named
Aśoka, and, seeking mokṣa, he went forth in the presence of the Exalted One.
Thinking that mokṣa was in his power he did not make much effort. A long time
later, Aśoka spent the rainy season in the country. The Exalted One, the fully
awakened Buddha Kāśyapa, having done all the work of a buddha, like a fire that
had run out of fuel, reached his final resting place, and Aśoka the monk was in
secluded meditation84 under an aśoka [tree]. The deity who lived in that aśoka tree
heard about the parinirvāṇa of the Exalted One, the fully awakened Buddha
Kāśyapa, and began to cry. And as she cried, teardrops began to fall onto Aśoka’s
body. Aśoka turned his face upwards and said to the crying deity, ‘Why are you
crying, deity?’ The deity said, ‘Today, in the middle watch of the night, will be the
parinirvāṇa of the Exalted One, the full and perfect Buddha Kāśyapa.’ Having heard
the deity’s words, Aśoka trembled as if he had been mortally wounded, and began
to weep pitifully. Then the deity asked, ‘Why are you crying?’ Aśoka replied,
‘Because I am separated from my teacher and separated from my kinsman!
Kāśyapa the perfectly awakened one is my uncle, and I have been living
confidently, without striving. It is far away, and I am just an ordinary man.
Because of the lost time, I am not able to attain excellence.’ The deity said, ‘But if I
were to take sir to the Exalted One’s presence, would that be possible?’ Aśoka
replied, ‘Yes, for my awakening would be matured at the moment of seeing the
Exalted One, and I would be able to attain excellence.’ So the deity, using
supernormal power, took Aśoka to the presence of the Exalted One, and at the
sight of the Exalted One he became faithful. Then the Exalted One Kāśyapa
explained the dharma of such a kind that on hearing it he realised arhatship. And
that venerable Aśoka attained to parinirvāṇa first, and then the Exalted One, the
perfect Buddha Kāśyapa.
“Then that deity, seeing that Venerable Aśoka had attained parinirvāṇa,
became joyful and thought, ‘Excellence has been attained by this venerable
someone, having come here entirely because of me. In the same way may I, in a
future time, be amongst the renouncers of this young man named Uttara, to
82
This formulaic passage seems to have become distorted and abbreviated, leaving bāhye
impossible to translate in situ. See Speyer 1958: 237 n.1.
83
The bhadra kalpa is the current aeon, in which Gautama forms the fourth of five buddhas to arise.
84
The phrase pratisaṃlīno babhūva suggests that he was ‘retired’ or ‘withdrawn’, but this is usually
understood to be for the purpose of meditation. See BHSD pratisaṃlīna.
32
whom the Exalted One Kāśyapa has explained, “Young man, you will be a perfectly
awakened one, an arhat, a Tathāgata named Śākyamuni, when the life-span of
men is a hundred years!” Amongst his renouncers, when he has reached his final
resting place, may I become the last of his personal disciples, called forth with the
words “Come, monk!” And may I achieve parinirvāṇa before the Exalted One, and
then the Exalted One Śākyamuni.’”
The Exalted One said, “What do you think, monks? She who at that time on
that occasion was the deity, that was Subhadra. Therefore, monks, you should
train in this way: We will dwell as good friends, good companions, good
associates, not evil friends, evil companions, evil associates. In this way, monks,
you should train.”
Then Venerable Ānanda said to the Exalted One, “Sir, when I am here alone
and solitary in retreat, this thought arises in my mind, that this is half of the
religious life, namely good friendship, good companionship and good associations,
and not evil friendship, evil companionship and evil associations.” “You should
not say this, Ānanda, that this is half of the religious life, namely good friendship,
good companionship and good associations, and not evil friendship, evil
companionship and evil associations. Ānanda, this is the entire, complete, whole,
pure, accomplished religious life, namely good friendship, good companionship
and good associations, and not evil friendship, evil companionship and evil
associations. What is the reason for this? Because, Ānanda, beings who are subject
to the experience of rebirth come to me as their spiritual friend and are liberated
from the experience of rebirth, and those beings who experience ageing, sickness,
grief, death, lamentation, suffering, melancholy and mental anguish are freed
from mental anguish [etc]. In this manner, Ānanda, it should be understood, that
this is the entire, complete, whole, pure, accomplished religious life, namely good
friendship, good companionship and good associations, and not evil
companionship, evil friendship, and evil associations. In this way, Ānanda, you
should train.”
Abbreviations
BHSD Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Dictionary, see Edgerton 1970.

DP Dictionary of Pāli, see Cone 2001-2010.
DPPN Dictionary of Pāli Proper Names, see Malalasekera 1997.
MMW Monier Monier-Williams’ A Sanskrit-English Dictionary.
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The Fourth Decade of The Avadanasataka

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The Fourth Decade of the Avadnaataka

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The Fourth Decade of the Avadānaśataka

I here present a translation of the fourth decade (stories 31-40) of the

The Fourth Section

32. The Mouthful

“Formerly, monks, in times past, there was in this city of Vārāṇasī a

37. The Hare

38. The Dharma-seeker

become completely extinguished, in the nirvāṇa element that is without

and I spoke the way of the noble dharma;

BHSD Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Dictionary, see Edgerton 1970.

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